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Friday, August 24, 2012

The Fourth Floor

I raced down the hallway with a couple of the other security
guards on my tail.

That's just an expression.
I may be the devil, but my body is basically human. I do not have a tail. But if I had one, some of the goons chasing
me may have been able to grab hold of it.

Near the end of the tiled hallway was a pair of double doors
labeled "stairs." As I burst
through them into the stairwell, I was struck by how familiar the dull echoing
of my movements was in the empty space.
It was just like every stairwell I'd ever used in a school. But I was in Hell.

Bizarre. Or maybe
meaningful. I wasn't sure. I also didn't have a whole lot of time to
reflect on the coincidence of this part of hell feeling exactly like my high
school.

I hurried up the stairs with a growing number of demons
chasing me. General Gavsot had said that
Azraal's office was on the fourth floor.
As I crashed through the doors into the blandly carpeted hallway on
Azraal's floor, I wondered if it would be safe to assume that he now knew I was
coming.

I sensed the noise die down behind me and turned. The dozen-or-so demons that had been chasing
me seconds earlier were now gathering in the hallway, blocking any effort I
could make to return to the stairs. The
big gray one I'd nearly castrated stood in the front of the group, crossed his
massive arms, and smirked.

I turned the opposite direction and stared at the last door
at the end of the hall. On the
translucent glass was etched "Azraal - Director of
Transportation."

I was pretty sure that he was expecting me. Especially when I heard him say, "Come
on in!" from behind the door.